Revenge of the 6MMRPC!!!

Last year's 6th Month Mountain Reduction and Painting Challenge (Started September, my initial post for it is HERE) got me off my hobby arse and painting a fair amount of my hobby backlog. It was a great motivator and even saw this lowly blog updated at least once a week almost consistently.

Well, the organisers have decided it would be better to start the 2nd annual challenge earlier this year so as not to fall during the Thanksgiving and Xmas holidays (Sensibly) and therefore make it a little easier for people to keep up the momentum without the distractions that a run of major holidays can provide.

Not that I am all that big on cats in general, but my cat I feel deserves far more internet time than any other. (Plus I didn't have any other clever pictures around when I wrote this post up...)

Starting June 1st, the 2nd 6MMRPC begins! This is great and well timed for me. I've been feeling badly burnt out on painting for a while now after that mad dash to try to get my Flames of War British Motor Company fully painted for March's tournament here in Sacramento, but also inspired (after a couple of demo games of Dark Ages 28mm) to start my own Viking and Saxon forces so I can play some Lion Rampant. So there's lots to be painted for that project alone.

The rules for this year's Challenge have changed a little -

a. we get 3 "Jokers" instead of 2 - so some impulse buys aren't too out of the picture and you can earn further "Jokers" by completing entire projects.

b. we are allowed to pick up "that one missing piece" to complete a project without it counting as a "Joker".

c. The lovely chaps organising the Challenge have included a small painting competition with a real prize. I might enter, though having seen some of the work people posted from last year, doubt I will have much chance at winning!

Here are the actual rules copied and pasted directly from The Spider Web of History blog:

1. No purchasing of new miniatures, EXCEPT if you use a joker.  You get three jokers to use on a figure purchase.  Could be a blister pack, an ebay bundle, or a single figure...you can't splurge. The only exception to this rule is if you need bitz or A FIGURE (Singular) to complete a unit/warband etc.

1.1 - There is an opportunity to "earn" additional jokers.  If you complete an entire project (whole unit/army/warband etc.) with pictures of starting, WIP, and completion, you earn yourself a Joker.

2.  Gifts do not count against you. Holidays, birthdays etc. Also, if you're given gift cards by your hobby illiterate family or friends, you can without penalty use them on anything you want miniatures wise.

3.  Paints, terrain (or materials), and other hobby supplies do not apply to the no purchasing rule.

4.  At least one hobby related blog post and/or Instagram update a week.  If you instagram, be sure to hashtag your pic with #6MMRPC

5.  Zombtober will be part of the 6 month challenge so, Zombie related stuff during October is ENCOURAGED. Other theme suggestions are welcomed.

6.  Anyone that wants to submit a before and after picture of a miniature that they are proud of completing during the course of the challenge to dmcffd@gmail.com will be entered into the running for a gift certificate to a online wargaming store of their choice.  Judging will be by an un-biased person.  Amount on the gift certificate will be dictated by winners nationality but should work out to about $30 U.S. I (Spiderweb of History) will not be eligible to win.

So.... June 1st.... It's on. I'll be putting together a swift post to illustrate what projects I plan on showing my major goals with Draxian (TM) charts and so forth, so watch this space.

A picture of the Twits. Just because.

In other news - my blog recently hit some major milestones (Considering it's not updated all that often and that what I do post is allovertheplace topics-wise.)! I passed 50'000 views and also 101 followers in swift succession! BIG thanks to those who stop in and read my nonsense and comment on the work I showcase. Like many others who've written these type milestone posts, it's the community and their encouragement that keep me coming back and posting updates and of course in turn being able to view and comment upon your own hobby works and exploits. I've made some online mates and met others in person through this blog, so that I feel accounts for how much it has impacted my life. Thankyou all (Especially the bots, who are no doubt at blame for getting me to the 50K views by a fair majority.), I hope I can keep this place interesting enough to keep you coming back fro more in the future!

6MMRPC #1 - Organisation

This 6-month challenge/pledge is proving to be an interesting muddle of many things. I've started making lists for each project, cataloging what models I have for each, then tallying them into a journal for later transferring into a blog post. Last count I am up to 16 distinctly different projects that need my attention. That's a possible 16 different whole armies, or skirmish sized group of miniatures. (And I didn't even catalog my entire rpg minis backlog; just added them as an entry with "X" amount done.*this also does not include any upcoming Kickstarter deliveries which will also be added as they arrive*)

Still, there's more than enough to keep me busy realistically until 2020 or something silly. :) Okay, maybe not that far ahead. But looking at the pile, there's more than enough that I find I'm actually far happier than I realised to hold off on any further purchases.

With all this in mind, I went on to start making Excel charts to keep track of all of these painting projects. So far, I've managed to prepare only the three main Flames of War projects I have on my table. Using the Draxian paint chart method here are the first three charts (These charts looked a lot clearer before I converted them to jpegs...?):

Now, these charts don't detail the exact number of minis involved, but I don't think that's all that important, it's the end result. I think seeing all these red boxes turn yellow then green on each project will really help keep me motivated to finish off each list. I'll also have a 4th chart made for the rest of my Flames of War pieces that don't really belong specifically to any army I currently play or own.

I'll be making more of these up for my other 28m projects too - my 40K Astra Militarum Imperial Guard project is the one I'm fearing the most.... O_o I didn't realise I had collected up so much infantry.

Whilst this post is about the 6 Month Mountain Reduction Painting Challenge, I'll not claim it as this week's (The Challenge officially started yesterday.) post, so keep an eye open for a proper job post in a couple days.

Lastly, those missing German platoons and pieces I mentioned in my last post that were needed to fill out my Arnheim list? Well, I went and ordered them from Lotus Vault and they are on their way. Now I have NO excuses for getting my wallet out for new models.

The Warband (Part 4 - Centaurs)

Quick return to some Citadel Miniatures inspired fun.

To break up the monotony of painting up oodles of 15mm infantry, I decided to put a little more work into my Chaos Warband project and got on with my centaurs.

First off, thankfully there's only two of them, because thus far they have been rather fiddly, green-stuff-wise. I'm still trying to figure out what to do with their main horse bodies, they are large bare areas of the models and I'm at somewhat of a loss of how to decorate them, if at all. Right now they are just carved up due to removal of their saddles/blankets that had been part of their mold.

Their Dominant Attribute is “Hideous Appearance”, so I dove into my bits box trying to figure out if I had any appropriate ugly/weird looking heads pieces to show this.
The fellow on the left got a metal head from a piece I found in my LGS bits bins, some random scaled thing that had been on a long neck. It’s a little large, but I think that in itself helps to define it’s “hideousness” when compared to the centaur’s more hairier rest of it’s body. (Though I may add scales to it’s torso now I think about it…. Hrm.) (It was 12:30am when I set my tools down ~_~ ) For a weapon, he got the long spear thing from the Corpse Cart driver – I just need to bulk up that wrist a little. I’m not sure what the heck I’m going to do with his left arm…. I think I may well slap a tentacle there for gits and shiggles, even though I didn’t roll one up originally – he’s “hideous” damnit, all of him.

The strapping chap on the right got a plastic head piece that had previously been attached to an armoured fist by it’s hair. I’m guessing some sort of trophy from a Vampire Counts kit? I cut off the fist and green-stuffed some funky Jimmy Neutron hair that I think looks pretty darn cool. With his skeletal features and skin-flap peeling off his forehead, this bloke is pretty damned “hideous” I feel. Another piece from the Bits bin was that lovely flail, again, I don’t know what model it’s from. I added the bell-on-a-chain as a last minute idea, but I think I’ll use something else, as it looks a bit pants now I look at it this morning.

Crappy fuzzy pic taken at bedtime. Note the tiny 15mm mortar platoon currently on the painting table.

There's still lots to do on these two - the spear bloke needs more work done on his "abs" and they both need some sort of tail (Am trying to steer clear of traditional horse-hair looks though). I'm also considering re-attaching the spear arm to be raised up more as the angle it's at now takes away from the whole pose I think.

Comments and/or critiques are welcome.

The Warband (Part 3 - Chaos Goblins)

Best to not stem an urge to create right? :) The Chaos Goblins for my warband are put together and ready for priming. Like I've mentioned previously, I really like the Gnoblar sculpts - very reminiscent of Paul Bonner type images of Gobs in my mind. (My all time fav GW artist.) Two have had things added or changed, the third I left alone as I really felt it has plenty of fun character by itself that didn't need to be altered.



This one had a sack over his shoulder that I shaved down and stuck the bow and quiver piece over and a lizardman turtle-shell shoulderpad to help cover my mangling. I think he looks fun as heck.

Think this one should be called "Flenser" with all those nasty looking hooked knifes on his belt. (I have no idea right now what to call the other two.)

 

The aforementioned untouched sculpt. Love the pie on his back with fingers poking out!

 

And the obligotary family shot.

The Warband (Part 2 - Dirty Muties WIP)

(I know, bad! I should be working on my Brits, but damn..... 15mm uniforms get boring to paint.... Quick!)

Beastmen are funny old buggers. One minute they are eating acorns from low hanging branches of a venerable Oak, the next, they come at you, all four arms swinging a menagerie of brutal hand weapons in an effort to turn you to pulp.

Regular chaps:

These arrived from the Ebay auction preglued, but don't seem that bad pose-wise to me so they stay as is.

Four Arms - felt big shoulder mass was best way to go with non-normal placement of arms due to nasty mutation aspect of the deal:

 

 

And the start of a Centaur.... when you are a mutie half horse, your wierd abs go on for miles........ :

 

 



Family picture!

 

 



Will try to get the Goblins and the troll to a point where they are ready to be shown too soon.

 

*yawns* now, back to those Brits.... ~_~


Interlude 6

 

Quick update on what’s been going on of late.

Progress on the Warband challenge is going okay – so far have sculpted the troll a new foot, which isn’t too bad considering sculpting at this scale isn’t my strong suit. I found an old 3^rd Edition Warhammer skeleton that I plan to take apart and decorate his base with as a prior lunch or some such. For the chaos goblins I pulled out some spare Night Goblins and completely balked at the crapness that is their sculpts - Looney Toons-esque and terrible. Frantically I looked about for an alternative option and came upon some old Gnoblar bits I had gotten for no particular reason and decided they’d be perfect. So now they are cleaned and based and read for primer. The Centaurs - well, centaur right now as I’m still waiting for the other horse to arrive from the UK - are going to be a bit more extensive work. I’m trying to keep the costs to a minimum for this project so aiming to use as much stuff from my bits collection as I can. Their torsos will be made from left over Beastman Gor torsos from my prior Beastman Penitents Guard unit and I have plenty of right arms to use on them…. Just the left arms I’m out of so maybe a tentacle or two?

I have been invited to attend a Late War Flames of War tournament in San Rafael on the 23^rd. This will be my first tournament for any game in five or six years and I am somewhat nervous. My knowledge of the rules is scant at best and I’ve not had good experiences in tournament settings up until now as the typical hyper competitive attitudes I’ve experienced up until now soured me completely on the whole tournament idea. But we will see – number one concern I really should have in all this is that I have SO MANY models to paint before the event!

It’s to be an escalation deal with three rounds of play, first at 1240 points, then a middle value for the 2^nd game that I can’t remember and final round game at 1780 points. You can use different lists though they have to be made from one Company list. I am thinking I’ll go with a Brit list from the new Market Garden book, Irish Guard or Canadian. Cheesy yes (Cos they are the current “it” lists.), but my lack of experience needs a boost, especially with my horrible dice rolls! :)

So thus far I have painted my infantry Company Command and a full 3 section Infantry Platoon and also a 3 carrier Universal Carriers platoon. What’s left to be done before the 23^rd are 4 Sherman V tanks, 4 Sherman Fireflys, 2 M10 Achilles with 17pdrs (I plan to borrow two for the event to have a full tank destroyer platoon.), platoon of Heavy Machinegun infantry, platoon of 3” Mortars, a Hawker Typhoon, platoon of 6pdr Anti-Tank Guns and eventually (When they arrive from Ebay.) a 4.2” Heavy Mortar platoon. I also have two extra Shermans I can run as my IC’s if I want to run a tank company, but I’m not sure if I wan to play that or an Infantry company.

So not much to get on with, eh? So far, I have 2 Shermans and 2 Fireflys near to complete and have started on the MG platoon uniforms and 6pdr guns. I’ve no decals so I think I’ll attempt freehanding some rough unit markings on them. (Wish me luck!) 

Needless to say, progress on anything Chaos Marines related has been paused until after the tourney.

Here’s a rubbish phone-cam pic of the WIP tanks. 

 

Lastly, I got an email from Dreamforge Games that my Eisenkern troopers from their most recent successful Kickstarter campaign have been put in the post! Needless to say, I am rather excited!

The Warband (Part 1 - Another Challenge!)

A forum I frequent almost daily is papanurgle.com. There is currently a small competition amongst the regulars using the original Realm Of Chaos books to roll up random Chaos warbands and see if we all can't finish assembling, painting and basing them before the forum's next birthday in May.

I couldn't help myself and so got out my poor over-used Lost and the Damned hardback and got rolling dice!

First off I decided my warband would be unaligned. I already have lots of Nurgle to be getting on with and a new paint scheme will help keep my hobby energy fresh. We were allowed to roll three time to determine the makeup of our 'band's Champion. I was "blessed" with my usual dicing luck and got fething Human each time. (Was sincerely hoping to get Skaven as I had a cool Jess Goodwin sculpt that would have been perfect for this.)

So my Level 10 Human Hero (Warrior) ended up getting a Bestial Face of a Goat and 3 Chaos Hounds as Rewards. This was cool and at least took him away from being boring stock human. For Attribute, he got Chaos Lord. This is an over powered attribute as it pretty much advances the Champ to superhero status, boosting his stats, giving +1 magic level, Chaos armour and a daemon weapon. On top of that, he gets more free followers (I got a couple Centaurs and one (?) beastman.). Either way tho, he would kick arse in a fight for sure.

I'm planning on using the Helldorado Augustus Raimond fig as the base for him.

I next rolled for followers and got a Troll with eye stalks and flatulence problem, 3 more beastmen (Two of which got a pair of extra arms apiece.) and a trio of Chaos Goblins with bows.

In all it would make for a decent force to field in a warbands versus tourney and I really look forward to putting all of it together and paint.

So far I've rooted through my bits and found three old old old Chaos hounds and a Troll. The beastmen are coming from Ebay and for the gob's I'll convert some spare Night Goblins I have hanging about. The Centaurs will be stuck together using old plastic horse bodies and either Marauder torsos or Catachan Guard plastic ones. (The Centaurs got "Hideous Appearance" too which should prove fun to model.) so I'm excited to Just the aforementioned Champ fig to buy left. :)

The Chaos warrior was my original choice for my Champion, but I couldn't bring myself to hack his head off so he's been safely replaced inside my bits box.

A Challenge (Part 5 - Havok Squad start)

With the Herald completed, I can move on to next month's commitment. I've decided to work on my Havok Squad (They've only sat in my Chaos to do box for 3 years..... ).

Here's the squad of 7 pre-prime, they are currently drying after being sprayed black with Krylon in preparation for base coats.

Due to the drying paint, I decided to work on some more of my Brits, this time a Machine Gunner platoon. It's mostly made up of Forged in Battle miniatures (Aside from the platoon command section.) which are not as nicely detailed as the Battlefront sculpts and a little larger, but they were a gift and I'll not be a ponce and not use them just cos they are different. Once on the table they'll look fine as they shred Nazi infantry with the rest of the Tommies. ;)

(Also, my copy of Sedition Wars STILL hasn't arrived..... The FedEx tracker page says it's been in Sacramento since Friday. I'm slightly annoyed to say the least.)

A Challenge (Part 4 - Herald Finished!)

Along with another game of Flames of War where my dice once again betrayed me (they have now been retired. Permanently.) I have finished my Herald for my Challenge's January commitment. He has no name as yet, though I'll think of something soon - "soandso the Counter" is sitting well thus far.

Last three pics are of his face details, backpack and shell, and my rubbish attempt at verdigris.